Snooki Felt Like the Outcast on ‘Jersey Shore’ Until She Got Punched in the Face

If you think you know Snooki, you probably do—but also, you probably don’t. She became the undisputed queen of MTV’s Jersey Shore after getting punched in the face at a bar in Seaside Heights—then turning that moment into a global phenomenon. Now she’s a 14-year veteran mom of three, a boutique owner, a Canadian ghost hunter, and the future founder of a pickle empire. On Good Guys, she sits down with hosts Josh Peck and Ben Soffer and gets into all of it. 

Here are the highlights, adapted from the episode.

Snooki on Her Early ‘Jersey Shore’ Days: ‘I Felt Like the Outcast’

How did Jersey Shore actually happen? 

“I always wanted to be on Real World, so I auditioned for Real World twice. Didn’t hear anything. And I was like, all right, like maybe I’ll see a casting that really resonates to me. Then it was like ‘Calling all Guidos, Jersey Shore.’ And I was like, okay, cool. Let me try out for this. I was hoping that it would be like a one season like great opportunity and then I get my 15 minutes, make money, and then go back to school. So, I wasn’t expecting this to be my career.”

What was it like being the breakout star of that first season?

“I definitely felt grateful because when I was filming the first season, I felt like I didn’t fit in and I felt like no one liked me. I felt like the outcast to be honest. And that was the first time in my life that I felt that way. And I think it’s because no one saw a little creature drink like that before. So, they were like, ‘What is this girl?’ So, I think I scared everyone. But then they came to love me…so, when I came out like everyone’s underdog favorite, I was like, ‘Oh my god, thank you.'”

Was the show an instant hit?

“I don’t know if I would say instant…Once I got punched in the face, I feel like that’s when everyone was like, ‘What is this show? You have to watch it. This little girl just got punched in the face at a bar. She’s on the floor.’ So I feel like that was what really made it take off.”

Reality TV is so different now. Did you ever feel like you had to create drama to stay relevant?

“I feel like I was always myself and I feel like reality TV now is just so scripted and like the new shows and the new people that are coming on, like they know what to do on a reality show. Like you have to go in, you have to make drama. Back then when we did the show, we just went there to have fun. There wasn’t really a guide to do good reality…my character in general, like I never liked drama. I hated fighting with my friends. I quit for a full season because I just didn’t like the drama of it all. And thankfully my role was party girl. So hey, you guys can fight. I’m going to the bar and getting a drink and dancing and that’s me.”

Why won’t you do ‘Housewives?’ 

“I would never sell out a friend like that. And I would cry if someone did that to me. I don’t like drama. I’m just there to have a good friendship, to have fun, and go home. Housewives is just not my vibe as a job.”

The Angelina wedding speech—was it as bad in the room as it looked on TV?

“It was worse. Going into the speech, like Angelina wanted us to be bridesmaids. We were like, okay, we got you, girl. But our relationship with her at that time was just like, she’s the funny friend and we can make fun of her and she makes fun of us. So we were actually trying to be jokesters, but like I guess we took it too far and nobody understood our relationship. As I’m watching it, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, we sound so bad.’ Like I felt awful. So it didn’t hit like we thought it would. But in our defense, we were trying to be funny. And it didn’t work out at all.”

How did the ghost hunting show happen?

“I was trying to sell my ghost show for like three years. No one was picking it up because you know how hard it is to sell a freaking show. And then all of a sudden we just went to Canada and boom, they took it…it’s called Snooki, the Paranormal Rookie. And I always felt things my entire life. So, this is more of me just being a rookie at ghost hunting and like my mediumship and like feeling things. It’s kind of my journey of becoming a ghost hunter and a medium, I guess. I have a medium on there and he sees the ghosties, he knows exactly what their name is and I’m training from him. And then I have Todd who’s the tech guy who records all the ghosties. And then I have my good witch who is Missy. So she casts spells and she protects us.”

What do you do when you get scared during a ghost hunt?

“I have spirit juice. So, when I get nervous, I go, ‘Spirit juice!’ They give me a goblet of wine and then I’m not that scared.”

Is cheer mom life as unhinged as it sounds? 

“Not with me because I love all my cheer fellow moms, but there is drama of like a child not being center or why did she get taken out of a stunt and now she’s not flying and she’s in the back. I had an incident with the gym owner that my daughter goes to…we had a little falling out and I was like, I’m ripping her from the program and then the next day I’m like, oh my god, no, I want to keep her. So I sent her $300 worth of flowers and I said sorry I was a cheer mom b*tch. So ever since then we’ve been really close. It’s a lot. It’s like Dance Moms.”

Listen to the full episode on Good Guys with Josh Peck and Ben Soffer, available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Read More

• Madison Marilla and Her Dad Get Honest About the Years Before ‘Love on the Spectrum’
• Heidi Montag Says She Was Always Meant for More Than Reality TV
• Kris Jenner Has a Blunt Message for Anyone Judging Her Face